DEN BOSCH, Netherlands (AP)—Top-seeded Kim Clijsters beat Monica Niculescu 7-5, 7-5 on Monday in the first round of the Unicef Open, a grass-court warmup for Wimbledon.
In the men’s tournament, top-seeded Nicolas Almagro lost to Michael Berrer of Germany 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Marcos Baghdatis reached the second round, beating Arnaud Clement 7-6 (4), 6-3. Nicolas Mahut of France advanced by eliminating sixth-seeded Adrian Mannarino 6-7 (2), 3-6.
After leading 4-2, Clijsters lost three straight games before winning three in a row to finish the set. In the second, Clijsters broke Niculescu in the sixth game, but the Romanian broke right back. Both held serve until Niculescu double-faulted to end the match.
“It always takes a little getting used to,” Clijsters said of her first match on grass this year. “It was important to stay focused on every point.”
Second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia also advanced, beating Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands 6-2, 6-4.